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Cutter
Curmudgeon

The HF BeverlyYang
Throatless Shear

So I have been wanting to answer Cracker's question relating to my new Christmas toy, the Harbor Freight throatless shear. item # 38413. He asked if I thought it was worthwhile & could it cut 16-gauge sheet for a trailer project? My answer is yes, it is worthwhile to me for the kind of work I usually do; it would have been a real lifesaver if I had had it when I started making all those danged Christmas roses. I don't know that I would want to try to cut larger panels like I suspect Cracker might be thinking, just because of the awkwardness of trying to handle the sheets.

But here is the sum of my experience so far. I bought the little tool a day or two after Christmas, bolted it to my work bench & started re-cutting & trimming some of the 20-gauge rose components I had left to do. This was with no adjustments other than to tighten the keeper bolt (that secures the lower blade to the frame) and I did try to be sure the moving blade cleared the fixed one but I did not try to fine tune it at that time.

Wow! I was thrilled. This was so much easier on my hands that using those damned tin snips. However, the edges of the blades started chipping almost immediately. In fact, I am not positive there was not a small chip or two to begin with. Well, I had been warned of that by reading what rmack & rasommer had posted in the discussion of Beverly shears in the thread that stseeley posted sometime last month. And then there was the "Hey Cutter" thread that ScottS posted in which he provided a link to another site where the buyer of this shear was mightily unhappy about this chipping blade situation. Somewhere in all that one of the guys said that the replacement blades were different, not only in appearance but also that they did not chip. However, even with the chips this thing was still whacking right along so I went ahead & finished my roses and moved on to trying it out on heavier stock, just testing it. The heaviest stock I tried was 1/8th inch & that took considerable grunt just to lob off the end of a 1/2" strap. Well, it still cut but it was obvious that something had to be done about the cutters. They were coming apart.

Chipped Edges 1

Chipped Edges 2

I was in the neighborhood of the local store last Wednesday & stopped in on impulse; I did not have the blades with me, nor did I even have my receipt for the shear but I wanted to talk to Glen -the boss over there - and see what he thought. I knew they would refund my money or replace the tool but that was not my goal; I want it to work. So I asked Glen if he could just replace the blades instead of the complete tool. He said, "Ah, just bring it back & we'll give you a new one." so I explained to him what I read about the replacement blades being superior to the originals. He said he would have to order them, then he thought about that & decided to check his computer inventory. We went to his office & he discovered that he should have 5 sets in stock. Eventually he found them (stored under one of the cash register counters), handed me a set and said "There you go. Bring me your old ones when you get a chance." So, how's that for being accommodating for a HF guy? Glen rates real high on my list of store managers right now. I took him the old blades today. He just smiled and nodded; he appears to be one of the busiest men I have ever known. people are hauling merchandise out of that store as fast as he & his crew can stock it. And the amazing thing to me is that he has a very competent crew; the same kids I met there a year ago are still there and they know their business. Say what you want about Chinese tools, something good is happening in his store.

So here's the deal; I compared the new cutters & to the originals & found a little difference in the width and in the relief grind and there is also some difference in the screwhole placement on the upper (moving) blade. However, it installed just fine. The lower blade did not want to seat in the receiver bed; it would shift position every time I tightened the keeper so I wound up doing a little trimming on my belt sander; while I was at it, I polished some casting lumps out of the bed with a die grinder and Roloc disk. None of this involved very much work, just a nip here & there. Then when I reassembled the lever I took some of the slack out of the pivots just by tightening the bolts and jam nut a little extra.

Lower blades

Upper blades

The rough casting

Setting the clearance

And now the little shear cuts great, no chipping or complaining so far. I have used it to trim up all the left over 20 gauge from the roses project and I have nipped a few more pieces of 1/8th" strap and I made about half a dozen 8 - 12 inch cuts in some 16-gauge scrap, including one curve with about a 4 inch radius. I am not trying to place this little import in the same league with a genuine Beverly B-1; I have no experience with them anyway but I will say that for the price, this is a real fine addition to my inventory. Compared to using tin snips, this like using a bandsaw instead of a hack saw.

Long Cut

16 gauge cuts

16 gauge cuts2

2 1/2 inch circle

1/8th inch cuts

 

The lower blade afterwards:

Speaking of the price, it was on sale for $79.95; I had a 15% coupon and a $75 gift card so I had a buck or so left on the gift card. If necessary, I would have bought the replacement blades & if they don't hold up over the long haul, I will probably be willing to order a set from Beverly. I also have some tool steel on hand that I could anneal & try making my own. Hope I don't have to do that; my one experience at making a molding (woodworking plane) blade several years ago was enough to satisfy my curiosity. It was successful but it was a lot of hand work.

At any rate, if you want a small bench top shear & don't want to spend $400 plus for the real thing, I think this one is worth the money for relatively thin stock - so long as you wind up with the replacement blades. They are HF item #38414, current retail price is $39.95.

 

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